Buildings Vandalized At Hammonasset Park

MADISON — Leaving a trail of wanton destruction and cryptic signatures, vandals made their way through Hammonasset Beach State Park Saturday night.

Initial estimates put the damage at more than $20,000.

At the main pavilion, vandals apparently broke windows to get into the building, then broke down doors to get out -- even though the doors were not locked from the inside, park officials said. Of the building's 60 floor-to-ceiling windows, 23 were smashed.

The extent of the damage left officials and park visitors shaken. This is the worst incident of vandalism since the park opened in 1963, said park supervisor Roger Kinderman.

``This was just to break in and destroy,'' Kinderman said. ``I don't know what to make of all this. . . . One woman told me she was so upset she wanted to cry.''

The damage is so great that Kinderman estimates the vandals must have been in the park for hours.

The park is not heavily patroled when it is closed on winter nights, Kinderman said. The patrols are concentrated during the park's daylight hours during the off-season, he said. During the summer, the park hosts as many as 20,000 people a day and stays open all night for camping, he said.

The buildings damaged were the main pavilion, which serves as a concession stand to a private contractor, plus the west bath house and the lifeguard headquarters.

Inside the buildings, soda machines were upended, paperwork was strewn helter skelter, and about six portable radios were stolen. A mattress was spray-painted with an obscene reference to police.

Besides the destruction, serpentine tire tracks were found over medians and around the damaged buildings.

The park covers about 1,000 acres in Madison. The park is easily accessible from the heavily traveled Route 1, but the buildings damaged over the weekend are about a mile from the nearest occupied home, Kinderman said.

The damage occured between the park's closing at sunset Saturday and its reopening Sunday morning. Park employees arrived Sunday to find a gate near Route 1 smashed and its lock broken, Kinderman said.

Whoever did the damage signed their work with spray paint. On the outside of the building, cryptic messages were left. The highly stylized writing was typical of subway graffiti and difficult to read, authorities said.

The painting appears to say in part ``Brotherhood of . . .'' followed by three illegible names.

The damage is being investigated by state police at Troop F in Westbrook.